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CBC Radio column: Time to change Elections Canada’s arcane rules

By DJ KellyMay 4, 2011

In this alberta@noon column on CBC Radio One with host Donna McElligott I talk about Elections Canada’s ban on reporting the results of a federal election in a time zone where the polls have not closed yet. Topics include the $25,000 fine, the difference between media and people using social media, #tweettheresults becoming the most used hashtag in the world in the recent election, and clever ways to report results including Brits, Australians and Americans tweeting on our behalf. How do we even find these people? Do we have the resources? We also talk about whether Twitter tried to block tweets or were there just jokes being taken seriously. Elections Canada is fighting a losing battle. When shutting down the internet is the best option available to you, you need to rethink your strategy. It’s long overdue to reexamine our election night social media ban and find new ways to address this issue.

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Any opinions I express here are only mine and not necessarily those of any organization I might be working with or have worked with. In addition, my opinions sometimes change over time – shock, I know. So, just because I wrote it here at one point doesn’t always mean I still think the same thing. Please forgive me if I say contradictory things. What can I say? I’m a complicated person.